Regardless of generation, do you know the Christ?

In any given church today there tends to exist three distinctive generations. Each generation interprets life differently. Each generation has some distinctive characteristics that tend to define them as a group. When the pastor gets in the pulpit on any given Sunday he has three general types of lenses he is addressing.

The largest generation, especially in the Bluffton area, is the Baby Boomer generation. They tend to be program oriented. They will see church issues as fixable with the right time, money and experience. While the younger generations express themselves differently, the boomers will see classic worship services as the “normal” means to worship. Believe it or not, they like to be entertained. They were the generation that movies and television became an important aspect of their culture. One last characteristic is the love of comfort. They had depression era parents. Some actually remember the depression from their childhood and will do everything they can to avoid it. Baby Boomers were an intelligent and wise generation however parenting was not their strong suit.

Generation X (they have lot’s of sub names and groupings as well) are the children of Baby Boomers. There is one distinctive characteristic among this group. They don’t trust anybody or anything. It is the Xers that had any sense of stability collapse in their face. Their families were often split. They were left to survive divorce and abuse pretty much on their own. Church scandals and government lies and deceptions (Clinton: I did not have sex with her) left them feeling like life was being on a boat without a rudder. Their reaction is a drive toward individualism and a lack of commitment to anything that is not in their direct control. Xers have a lot of intelligence. They tend to lack the wisdom of their parents.

The last generation, named at this time Generation Z is also known as Generation Y. They are the youngest of the current adult generation. They are the Internet generation. The abundance of information (false, true and mixed) is at their fingertips. Individualism is marking them as selfish. However, their individualism is being fostered by the previous two generations. Their individualism is also being fueled by a world that promised them all sorts of success and outcomes only to have terrorism and the economy leave them with busted dreams. One obvious result is a generation that tends to stay home with their parents longer and return after they fail in a world that is failing them. Zers aren’t all that smart but have the greatest access to information (knowledge) with little wisdom available.

There is a fourth generation in the nursery. We don’t know what they will be like. Boomers, Xers and Zers are their parents and grandparents. We will have to wait and see.

So, how does a church reach through the various generational interpretations? Should churches only seek to address one generation at a time? These problems existed in the Bible. There was never one set group that Jesus addressed.

There is only one answer. It is to remain faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to function in life with great grace as Jesus did so that any man, woman and child can hear of the only hope man has: Jesus. His work on the cross to extend his grace into the lives of man surpasses any generational bounds. It is grace that takes a bunch of “me” and turns us in to “we.” Jesus said to take up our cross and follow him. I leave my generational makeup and follow Him. He raised the dead (older generation), called youth to be fishers of men (middle generation) and made sure the children could come to him (younger generation). He instructed us to lay down our live (generational wants) for the sake of our neighbor (past and future generations). Howdy, neighbor. Do you know the Christ?

To read more by John Ring, check out his blog at johnring.wordpress.com.

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